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Monday, 8 January 2018

Walking the walk...Alex's Night-time Adventures!

Alex Murray recently completed the ultimate challenge– he
slept rough to raise awareness of homelessness for the New Hope Trust! I caught
up with him recently to find out about it…

So Alex, what was it like?!

Alex: Cold lol!

Of course, so what made you want to do it?

Alex:I wanted to support people, but also saw it as an
opportunity to raise money.

What time did you get there?

Alex: We got there at about 9pm, watched a film, chatted…not
much sleep! I think I slept for about two hours on and off.

Was it the cold or was there something else that made it
hard to sleep?

Alex:Being uncomfortable. Uncomfy, plus being cold equals a
nightmare! I basically made myself into a cardboard sausage roll to cope. Luckily
it wasn’t too noisy, but I did have to count sheep to get myself to drift off.

I can only imagine! What must it be like for Watford’s rough
sleepers, who do this every day?

Alex:Exactly…not easy.It takes some resilience; real survival.

Tell me about the after effects…

Alex: I felt dreadful. It was like having a hangover but no
booze! I needed a duvet day to recovery, food…kip…etc.

If you were to do it again…what would you do differently.

Alex: Well, definitely bring some alcohol…something to sip
to keep you warm on the inside. Another pillow and more layers…I thought I’d
prepared for this but no, I needed more layers.

That’s interesting…so the alcohol thing…some people complain
about giving to rough sleepers ‘they’ll only spend it on drink’.

Alex: It gives you a real insight into alcohol abuse – you need
something to help you get to sleep but also to take your mind off it. The NHS
spends a lot of money on alcohol abuse treatment.

I think I would want to drink, it sounds like a nightmare.

Alex: It was hard. I would do it again though as it is for a
really good cause.

Alex - respect to you! It's easy to say the right things, but to take that step to make a difference takes courage.